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Interface engineering strategies for realizing anode-free sodium batteries : a review
Get PDFFunding: The authors acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation (DFG, Project number 501766751), the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion (GZ1579), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U24A20504). Y.D. appreciates the support from the start-up funding provided by the Postdoctoral Fellowship.Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) emerge as promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries due to sodium's abundance, low cost, and sustainability. However, NIBs face challenges such as lower energy density, electrode material compatibility, and long-term stability. Anode-free sodium batteries (AFNBs) address these limitations by eliminating the pretreatment anode, using a current collector for sodium plating and stripping, thus increasing energy density and simplifying manufacturing. Several types of AFNBs, including anode-free Na-metal, Na-solid-state, and Na-air/CO2 batteries, are under development, each targeting specific electrochemical challenges. Na-metal batteries offer high specific energy but suffer from sodium dendrite formation and unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). Na-solid-state batteries enhance safety and energy density but face issues with high interfacial resistance and limited ionic conductivity. Na-air/CO2 batteries promise exceptional energy densities but are still in the early stages, struggle with Na lose and stability concerns. Interface engineering plays a crucial role in overcoming these challenges, particularly by controlling Na deposition, stabilizing the SEI, and minimizing side reactions. Research focuses on optimizing the interface through surface modifications, electrolyte composition, and protective coatings to suppress dendrite formation and enhance cycling stability. This review highlights the latest advancements in interface engineering and explores future directions for AFNBs, aiming to develop high-energy-density, durable, and safe sodium-based energy storage systems.Peer reviewe
Ultrasonic spraying of Ce(Mn,Fe)O2 nanocatalysts onto a perovskite surface for highly efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction
Get PDFFunding: This research was supported by the Nano/Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2021M3H4A3A02086499). This research was also supported by the Ceramic Strategic Technology R&D program through the Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering & Technology (KICET) (grant NTIS no. 1415187241).Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) are promising devices for application in electrochemical CO2 reduction towards achieving a carbon-neutral society. However, the low durability of Ni-based electrodes during CO2 electrolysis hinders their commercial viability. Here, a fuel electrode with a nano-convex structure, i.e., (La0.75Sr0.25)[email protected] (LSCM@nano-CMF), is designed with an all-ceramic phase to enhance the electrochemical activity by following a simple and scalable approach. Ultrasonic spraying enables one-step formation of uniform nano-electrodes, contrasting with the tedious, consumable, and typically hired multi-step infiltration process. The excellent performance (3.89 A cm−2 at 1.5 V in the CO2 electrolysis at 850 °C) attributed to the CMF nanocatalyst with abundant oxygen vacancies and the unique perovskite/fluorite interface in a regulated structure, accelerating CO2 adsorption and displaying the synergistic catalytic effect of the dual phases. Additionally, the durability and coking tolerance of the LSCM@nano-CMF fuel electrode are demonstrated for 180 h, with a high faradaic efficiency of nearly 92%. This work provides insights for using SOECs for large-scale applications in CO2 reduction.Peer reviewe
“The ultimate test of self-discipline” : lockdown and the NoFap community
Get PDFNoFap is a community of mostly heterosexual men abstaining from what they see as an addictive cycle of pornography, masturbation, and orgasm, induced by the exploitation of innate male urges by the pornography industry. In the general population, increased masturbation and consumption of pornography are associated with psychological factors including low affect, loneliness, and boredom, all of which may be exacerbated by the lockdown/social distancing measures adopted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The present study explores how the NoFap community has responded to the pandemic through discourse analysis of an online message board. We identify four key themes: i) I let go in lockdown, ii) the opportunity of lockdown, iii) testing the parameters of NoFap, and iv) community cohesion. Each is defined and discussed. Combined they illustrate a digital community struggling to honor its meritocratic masculine ideals in the face of challenging circumstances.Peer reviewe
The status and future of essential geodiversity variables
Get PDFFunding: This study was supported by the Royal Society Theo Murphy Meeting grant 'Geodiversity Science for Society' to FS, MH, DvR, WDK, RF and JJB.Rapid environmental change, natural resource overconsumption and increasing concerns about ecological sustainability have led to the development of ‘Essential Variables' (EVs). EVs are harmonized data products to inform policy and to enable effective management of natural resources by monitoring global changes. Recent years have seen the instigation of new EVs beyond those established for climate, oceans and biodiversity (ECVs, EOVs and EBVs), including Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs). EGVs aim to consistently quantify and monitor heterogeneity of Earth-surface and subsurface abiotic features, including geology, geomorphology, hydrology and pedology. Here we assess the status and future development of EGVs to better incorporate geodiversity into policy and sustainable management of natural resources. Getting EGVs operational requires better consensus on defining geodiversity, investments into a governance structure and open platform for curating the development of EGVs, advances in harmonizing in situ measurements and linking heterogeneous databases, and development of open and accessible computational workflows for global digital mapping using machine-learning techniques. Cross-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships with governmental and private organizations are needed to ensure the successful development and uptake of EGVs across science and policy.Peer reviewe
Campanian Ignimbrite tephra reveals asynchronous vegetation responses to abrupt climate change in the eastern Mediterranean region
Get PDFFunding: AM was funded by a PhD studentship from the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge.The timing and rate of ecosystem response to abrupt climate change is a product of numerous complex interactions between biotic and abiotic drivers. Palaeoecological studies from long sedimentary records, particularly those that span periods of dynamic climate such as the last glacial cycle, can help to contextualise ecosystem responses to climate variability through time. Detailed studies that compare proxy data from multiple sites, with high chronological precision, have the potential to ascribe mutual climate drivers, and, therefore, track spatiotemporal variability in ecosystem responses. Here, we interrogate the vegetation impact of past climate change in the eastern Mediterranean, using three sub-centennially resolved pollen archives from Greece. The widespread Campanian Ignimbrite (CI/Y-5; ca. 39.85 ka BP) tephra marker is used as an isochron to directly correlate pollen records from Ioannina (NW Greece), Tenaghi Philippon (NE Greece), and Megali Limni (NE Aegean). Our results reveal spatiotemporal variability in the timing of vegetation response in the Mediterranean to climate forcing across Heinrich Stadial 4 (40.2–38.3 ka BP), a period of known abrupt climatic change. We identify a decline in tree pollen in all three sites, likely related to the onset of enhanced regional aridity, with vegetation at Tenaghi Philippon responding prior to the CI/Y-5, in contrast to at Megali Limni and Ioannina, where much of the vegetation change occurs following tephra deposition.Peer reviewe
Over 80% of the European Union’s marine protected area only marginally regulates human activities
Get PDFFunding: J.A.-B. was supported by the Portuguese funding agency, FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through PhD studentship 2021.06858.BD (https://doi.org/10.54499/2021.06858.BD). J.A.-B. thanks the European Marine Board for financial and in-kind support. B.H.eC. was supported by national funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.), in agreement with the University of Algarve, in the scope of Norma Transitória with research contract DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0038 (https://doi.org/10.54499/DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0038). This study received funding for publication from the Biodiversa MOVE project DivProtect/0009/2021, (https://doi.org/10.54499/DivProtect/0009/2021) and the EU Horizon MARHAB project (CL6-2023-Biodiv 2024–2027); B.H.eC. and J.C. also acknowledge support from these projects. This study received Portuguese national funds from FCT - through projects UIDB/04326/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04326/2020), UIDP/04326/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/04326/2020), and LA/P/0101/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0101/2020). N.V. was supported by the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization 760054 JUST4MPA, within the PNRR-III-C9-2022 - I8 call. and 760010 – ResPonSe, within the PNRR-III-C9-2022 – I5 call. J.C. acknowledges Fondation de France (MultiNet) and the European Commission (MARHAB) for financial support.To address the ongoing deterioration of marine ecosystems and its consequences on livelihood, the European Union (EU) now aims to achieve 30% coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs), with 10% under strict protection per region. Here, we provide the first assessment of protection levels of EU MPAs, describing the level of legal restrictions of activities using the MPA Guide framework. While MPAs covered 11.4% of EU national waters in 2022, 0.2% were fully or highly protected. As much as 86% of MPA coverage showed low levels of protection or would not be considered compatible with conservation objectives, as they allow industrial activities. Most MPA coverage showed minimal protection across member states, sea regions, and legal types of MPAs. The EU MPA network likely provides limited ecological outcomes. Reaching the EU’s 10% strict protection target will require radical changes to the regulation of activities in EU MPAs.Peer reviewe
Brightness and mass accretion rate evolution during the 2022 burst of EX Lupi
Get PDFFunding: This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 716155 (SACCRED). Funded by the European Union (ERC, WANDA, 101039452). INAF co-authors acknowledge the support of PRIN-INAF 2019 “Spectroscopically Tracing the Disk Dispersal Evolution (STRADE)” and by the Large Grant INAF 2022 YODA (YSOs Outflows, Disks and Accretion: towards a global framework for the evolution of planet forming systems) Zs.M.Sz. acknowledges funding from a St Leonards scholarship from the University of St Andrews. Zs.M.Sz. is a member of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne. Zs.N. was supported by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. We acknowledge support from the ESA PRODEX contract nr. 4000132054. We thank the REM staff for the observational support. This work makes use of observations from the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory under ESO programmes 085.C-0764(A), 108.23N8.001, and 109.24F7.001.Context . EX Lupi is the prototype by which EXor-type outbursts have been defined. It has experienced multiple accretion-related bursts and outbursts throughout the past decades, and the study of these events has greatly extended our knowledge about their effects. Notably, this star experienced a new burst in 2022. Aims . We aim to investigate whether the recent brightening was caused by temporarily increased accretion or by a brief decrease in the extinction and study the evolution of the EX Lupi system throughout this event. Methods . We used multi-band photometry to create color-color and color-magnitude diagrams to exclude the possibility that the brightening could be explained by a decrease in extinction. We obtained spectra using the X-shooter instrument of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to determine the Lacc and Ṁacc during the peak of the burst and after its return to quiescence using two different methods: empirical relationships between line luminosity and Lacc, and a slab model of the whole spectrum. We examined the 130-yr light curve of EX Lupi to provide statistics on the number of outbursts experienced during this period of time. Results . Our analysis of the data taken during the 2022 burst confirmed that a change in extinction is not responsible for the brightening. Our two approaches in calculating the Ṁacc were in agreement and resulted in values that are two orders of magnitude above what had previously been estimated for EX Lupi using only a couple of individual emission lines, thus suggesting that EX Lupi is a strong accretor even when in quiescence. We determined that in 2022 March, the Ṁacc increased by a factor of seven with respect to the quiescent level. We also found hints that even though the Ṁacc had returned to near pre-outburst levels, certain physical properties of the gas (i.e., temperature and density) had not returned to the quiescent values. Conclusions . We found that the mass accreted during this three-month event was 0.8 lunar masses, which is approximately half of what is accreted during a year of quiescence. We calculated that if EX Lupi remains as active as it has been for the past 130 yr, during which it has experienced at least three outbursts and ten bursts, then it will deplete the mass of its circumstellar material in less than 160 000 yr.Peer reviewe
Conceptualizations of and research on language teacher leadership : a scoping review
Get PDFRecent years have seen a growing interest in language teacher leadership, or the willingness and ability of teachers to take on responsibilities that benefit the wider community. This scoping review presents the current state-of-play of language education and leadership. Specifically, we aim to answer the questions ‘how has language teacher leadership been defined?’ and ‘how has it been researched?’. To do so, we adopted a framework for conducting qualitative research synthesis. Our findings show that conceptualization of language teacher leadership tends to include both teachers' actions and roles; specifically, language teacher leadership is considered to encompasses both pedagogical and managerial dimensions. Our review highlights that effective language teacher leaders exemplify a number of qualities shared with those of good language teachers. This is unsurprising as much of our data on language teacher leadership come from learners. We highlight several pedagogical implications for developing and sustaining leadership qualities in language teachers, including through initial teacher education, continuous professional development, and mentoring and coaching, as well as their associated benefits and challenges. Although our review includes articles from a number of different countries to ensure international appeal, our findings are limited by the fact that LTL is a nascent topic of research with a dearth of data.Peer reviewe
Kenneth Minogue, conservatism, and the challenge of the reactionary global Right
Get PDFThe reactionary global Right is a pervasive phenomenon characterized by an overarching goal of developing a counter-hegemonic strategy to challenge the liberal-dominated practices and institutions of the contemporary Western world. Although this reactionary global Right is not a unified movement, initiatives like the National Conservatism conference seek to build a transnational coalition. It is undeniable that its adherents represent a potent political force whose influence is steadily growing. Despite the pressing challenges posed by the reactionary global Right, traditional Western political doctrines, particularly conservatism, appear largely ill-equipped to respond effectively to both the movement and the concerns it raises. In some instances, the movement even presents itself as the future of conservatism, exacerbating the significance and urgency of the dilemma faced by contemporary conservative thought. This article contends that Kenneth Minogue’s conservative realism offers valuable insights for shaping the future of conservatism, steering it away from the allure of radicalism embraced by certain factions of the Right in response to an increasingly estranged world. It pursues this argument by examining Minogue’s engagement with the core ideas of the reactionary global Right, noting his sympathy towards their concerns while distancing himself from their proposed solutions. Ultimately, the article claims that Minogue’s perspective offers a robust framework for a civil conservatism that not only addresses the shortcomings of contemporary conservative responses to the reactionary global Right but also preserves core conservative ideas while charting a viable path forward for the future of conservative politics.Peer reviewe
Patient support in obstructive sleep apnoea by a large language model – ChatGPT 4o on answering frequently asked questions on first line positive airway pressure and second line hypoglossal nerve stimulation therapy : a pilot study
Get PDFPurpose : Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common disease that benefits from early treatment and patient support in order to prevent secondary illnesses. This study assesses the capability of the large language model (LLM) ChatGPT-4o to offer patient support regarding first line positive airway pressure (PAP) and second line hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) therapy. Methods : Seventeen questions, each regarding PAP and HGNS therapy, were posed to ChatGPT-4o. Answers were rated by experienced experts in sleep medicine on a 6-point Likert scale in the categories of medical adequacy, conciseness, coherence, and comprehensibility. Completeness of medical information and potential hazard for patients were rated using a binary system. Results : Overall, ChatGPT-4o achieved reasonably high ratings in all categories. In medical adequacy, it performed significantly better on PAP questions (mean 4.9) compared to those on HGNS (mean 4.6) (p < 0.05). Scores for coherence, comprehensibility and conciseness showed similar results for both HGNS and PAP answers. Raters confirmed completeness of responses in 45 of 51 ratings (88.24%) for PAP answers and 28 of 51 ratings (54.9%) for HGNS answers. Potential hazards for patients were stated in 2 of 52 ratings (0.04%) for PAP answers and none for HGNS answers. Conclusion : ChatGPT-4o has potential as a valuable patient-oriented support tool in sleep medicine therapy that can enhance subsequent face-to-face consultations with a sleep specialist. However, some substantial flaws regarding second line HGNS therapy are most likely due to recent advances in HGNS therapy and the consequent limited information available in LLM training data.Peer reviewe
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